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Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and at once launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, appearing really apologetic. She is only a bit late, she feels compelled to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s exactly what one hopes to experience. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Viewers who know the fearlessly queer and outspoken project Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and appeared in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would understand that she possesses plenty to discuss, be it on roles, relationships, or the pros of starting a high-school brawl society. And, after watching her recent seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds additional perspectives about the challenges of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a bridge for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for connecting different age groups).

Influences and Creative Vision

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress is a fan, citing it alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which follows the travails of online personality Tallulah and close companion and new representative Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest spot on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The inspiration for this project originated—in part—from her own, at first rocky, move to LA and from her saturn return, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that saw her learn major life lessons, work-wise and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Humble Origins

Growing up in Connecticut, the star commenced developing and showcasing stand-up while enrolled in theatre at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Ayo and posting hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively drawn to having babies; another portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being stuck in a thriller. By chance, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her path, she notes, has been people her own age supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Career Breakthrough

Anyone who were skeptical about her previously will certainly be kicking themselves currently. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she uploaded a video called “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about city dwellers managing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing stealer, and potentially becoming a risky persona non grata). Some could easy to make a show about digital influence that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. The series does neither, resulting in a depiction of affluent millennial living that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.

Nuanced Portrayal

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” she observes. “I think that young people have been through a lot – I’m mostly thinking of people younger than me, like my little sister, who went to college during Covid, so she had to come home, or my other sister who was doing school online.”|“The younger generation has faced significant